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UFC Boston - Ariel Helwani Interview - Watch more Funny Videos

At this point, MMA interviewer/analyst Ariel Helwani is more famous than a lot of the people he interviews. If you've ever spotted him at an MMA event, you know that he can't get ten feet without being swarmed by another group of fans, who follow his work intently at MMAFighting.com and Versus. Keep in mind that Ariel Helwani is not a fighter. He's just a dude who started with a dream and went on to become the most well-known interviewer in our sport. To put it simply, he's come a long way since Andrei Arlovski's pee-pee-pee. 

So here's something special for all the Helwannabes in the house: Ariel stopped by the CagePotato.com booth at the UFC Fan Expo on Saturday and spent some time on the other side of the microphone. Watch the video above to learn about Ariel's journey from sports fan to "liver of the dream," his love of Howard Cosell, and of course, why he thinks we're so awesome. Many thanks to Ariel for giving us his time and, at least for one moment, lending the CagePotato.com carnival booth some measure of legitimacy.

Note: Keep your eyes peeled around 2:41 and 2:56 to watch some amazing background work from ReX13. Yep. That's what I had to deal with all weekend.

UFC Boston - Bruce Buffer - Watch more Funny Videos

In one of my absolute favorite moments from our trip to the UFC Fan Expo in Boston, I had the opportunity to interview beloved UFC announcer Bruce Buffer, who was at the expo in part to promote his new Round 5 collectible figure. (Come on. You know you want that thing in your cubicle.) After giving us the scoop on "Mini B" and Round 5's Versus set, Bruce shares his favorite name to announce in the Octagon, how he keeps his voice in shape for every show, and lessons learned from the World Series of Poker. And then, he gives CagePotato.com the full Buffer treatment with a stunning UFC-style introduction. God bless you, Bruce. We are not worthy.

A side-note on why I appear to be screaming like a jackass through this entire interview: The microphones were high-quality enough to block out ambient noise, but trust me, it was deafening in there. You can catch a glimpse of Sammy "Jumpin' Ropes and Blastin' Shitty Music" Black, behind us in the red tank top. As you can see, Bruce and I were standing directly in front of the CagePotato punch machine, and it's a little difficult staying relaxed while a bunch of dudes are launching haymakers two feet behind your head. (Remember that amazing scene in Boogie Nights where Dirk Diggler and his gang are trying to screw Alfred Molina on a drug deal while an Asian houseboy keeps throwing firecrackers in the background? That's pretty much what this felt like.)

Plus, let's face it, it's Bruce Fucking Buffer, and I'm meeting him for the first time. You try controlling the volume of your voice in a situation like that. 

UFC Boston - Wes Sims Interview - Watch more Funny Videos

One of the most visible figures at last weekend's UFC Fan Expo was "The A-Hole Show" himself, Wes Sims. When he wasn't creating havoc around the convention center, the wild-'n'-crazy UFC vet was stationed at the Bonafide Tough Guy booth, just a stone's throw away from CagePotato.com's setup, and was kind enough to grant us an interview (after spending some time whacking our punch machine and threatening nearby children).

As you'll see, I ask Wes what he's been up to since TUF 10, completely forgetting his subsequent loss to Bobby Lashley in Strikeforce; I'm sure he'd like to forget that fight too. He doesn't have his next match set up yet, but he does explain his dim mak striking technique, and shares the story of how doctors accidentally cut four pounds of penis off of his new son, Max Ruckus.

I'll tell you something — I've never felt more like Mean Gene Okerlund in my life. Big props to Wes for making CagePotato's UFC Fan Expo booth that much more entertaining, and sticking around afterwards to sign autographs. More to come...

(Props: youtube.com/shosports)

It's not quite Nick Diaz vs. Jason Miller, but Strikeforce is going to do its very best to convince you that Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons — who's fighting for the title in his Strikeforce welterweight debut! — is the grudge match you've been begging for. And how do they plan on accomplishing that? By staying on message. As you'll see, the famous phrase "Don't be scared, homey" pops up twice in this one-minute hype clip for Strikeforce's next event at San Jose's HP Pavilion on October 9th. Which begs the question: If "DBS,H" is the theme of the night, why not hold the event in Stockton? What, too real for you guys? Violent crime rate too high? Pussies.

At this point, only two other fights have been booked for the Showtime broadcast of Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II. After earning her employers' respect with a slam-knockout of Roxanne Modafferi at the last Challengers card, 135-pound champion Sarah Kaufman will make her next title defense against Marloes Coenen, who was sacrificed to Cris Cyborg earlier this year at Strikeforce: Miami. Also, Matt Lindland will follow up his TKO win over Kevin Casey with a bout against hot middleweight prospect Luke Rockhold (7-1), who has ended all six of his Strikeforce appearances by first-round stoppage, including wins over Jesse Taylor and Cory Devela. Christ, good luck Matt.

Going into his UFC 118 title rematch against Frankie Edgar, BJ Penn is carrying a title that he hasn't had since before UFC 80 — former champion. We're willing to believe that the Prodigy had an off night in Abu Dhabi, but if he wants his belt back he'll have to relocate the kind of violent aggression that got him to the top in the first place. With that in mind, let's take a look back at four of Penn's early fights that set him up as a star in the UFC, and laid the groundwork for the legend that was to come...

BJ Penn vs. Joey Gilbert, UFC 31, 5/4/01

As the first non-Brazilian to win the black belt division at the Mundials, Penn entered the UFC with a reputation to uphold. But he wasn't looking to become the next Royce Gracie. Even from the beginning, the Prodigy was a true hybrid fighter, whose grappling and striking worked in tandem. His Octagon debut was against another UFC newbie, Joey Gilbert (1-1 MMA record at the time), and though Gilbert showed impressive ground defense in neutralizing Penn's attacks and positions, Penn was finally able to flatten Gilbert out on his stomach and whale him in the head until the ref stopped the fight with three seconds left of the first round. It looked like there might be something to this BJ Penn kid after all.

BJ Penn vs. Din Thomas, UFC 32, 6/29/01

Penn returned to action just eight weeks later to take on another fighter who was making his UFC debut. But even though Din Thomas was new to the Octagon, he'd already been around the block, compiling a 12-1 record with all victories by stoppage and a notable win over future champ Jens Pulver. Penn plays guard for a while (and shows off his famous leg flexibility at the vid's 2:13 mark), but once Thomas starts to threaten with ground-and-pound, Penn escapes to his feet and turns Din off with a perfectly-placed knee to the jaw. The Prodigy was no fluke, and the UFC's fledgling lightweight division was officially on notice.